It was finally the day of the baby shower, and Amy was not thrilled. It seemed like these last months had gone by in slow motion. Maybe it was because she couldn't work with the horses and she felt like a beached whale. Her stomach was so big she couldn't see her feet, let alone tie her own shoes. Her back ached all the time, and she couldn't get comfortable no matter what she tried. She was ready for this baby to make an appearance sooner rather than later.
Amy was beautiful in Ty's eyes, even though she didn't think so. She had that glow that pregnant women get, and he couldn't stop looking at her. Yes, being petite the baby had taken over her body, but she was soon to be the mother of his child, which made her even more beautiful to him. He didn't mind waiting on her and even tying her shoes when she needed help. He would help her in and out of the truck when they went for her appointments as she really couldn't drive anymore; her stomach was so big, she couldn't fit behind the steering wheel or reach the pedals. Ty was okay with that, though, because he didn't want her driving and taking the chance that the baby would be hurt by the steering wheel if she were to get in an accident. He worried about things like that.
Amy was trying to figure out what to wear to the shower. It was the last day of August and still warm out, so she wanted something cool and comfortable since she was not feeling pretty at all these days. She was going through her closet when Ty walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
"Wow, they still fit," she said sarcastically.
Ty laughed and reassured her by placing a kiss on her cheek. "Of course they do. My arms will always fit around my beautiful wife."
"Right." She rolled her eyes. "It's getting a little deep in here, Dr. Borden."
Ty turned her around and looked into those blue eyes and spoke straight from his heart. "I love you, Amy, and our child you are carrying. You are beautiful, pregnant or not. So what are you doing?"
"Looking for something to wear to this baby shower I don't want to go to."
Ty smiled. "Well, I think it would be bad if you didn't go since you're the one Lou is throwing the shower for. Besides, it'll be fun; just think of all the gifts you get to open for the baby."
"How do you know it'll be fun? Have you been to a baby shower before?" she asked, scowling at a shirt.
"Well, no," Ty admitted.
"Then you can't tell me that for sure," she retorted.
Ty figured he better leave that statement alone and started looking at the clothes hanging in the closet. His eyes fell on a blue-checked sundress he hadn't seen Amy wear before. He reached for it and said, "How about this one?"
Amy took it from him and looked at it, thinking he might be on to something. She'd forgotten about the dress, as it had been pushed to the back of the closet because she didn't wear dresses much. It was a free-flowing dress, no waist or binding sleeves to make her uncomfortable. She had a white shrug she could wear if she got cold, and her white flip flops with the daisies on them would look great with it.
"Dr. Borden, you are a genius. Let's just hope it fits," she said.
Ty smiled and said, "Of course it will fit. It's basically a big sack, so it should be no problem, right?" Then he realized what he said and looked at Amy with a sheepish grin on his face. "Sorry, you know I didn't mean it the way it sounded. Do you need my help?" He gave her his best smile.
Amy just shook her head and walked into the bathroom to get ready. She came out thirty minutes later looking so cute that Ty was staring at her.
"What's wrong? Do I look okay?" she asked with a worried look.
"You look beautiful, Amy." He walked over to give her a kiss.
"Thank you. It is kind of cute, isn't it?"
Ty smiled and asked her if she was ready to walk over to the house. She nodded and they headed for the stairs. When they reached the barn, Amy turned when she heard Spartan nicker at her. She went over to him and petted him and gave him a treat. She stroked his neck and told him how much she missed being able to ride right now.
Ty came over and said, "I know it's been tough not being able to ride and work with the horses, but it won't be too much longer and then you can start riding again." Amy sighed and shook her head. It seemed like ages ago since she had ridden, and she missed that feeling of being one with the animal and having the wind in her face riding through the fields. Hopefully the doctor would let her ride again shortly after the baby was born.
She and Ty walked out of the barn hand and hand headed toward the house and all the guests arriving for the shower. Amy was dreading the next few hours, having to make small talk with everyone and being the center of attention. She would rather be with Ty, spending time together just the two of them talking about how their life was going to change after baby Borden arrived. But she had to attend the event since she was the guest of honor.
When they walked onto the porch, her dad was there. Tim walked over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek and said, "Wow! Amy, honey, you look…." And he stopped.
Amy just smiled and said, "Big! Thanks, Dad."
Ty gave him a look that could kill. Tim shrugged his shoulders and said, "What? What did I say?" Ty just shook his head.
Ty and Amy continued into the house and he made sure his wife was safely in the hands of Lou before kissing her gently on the cheek and telling her he would be back to rescue her in a few hours. She gave him a weak smile and said, "You'd better be."
As Ty walked out the door, Tim and Jack were headed off down the driveway to go somewhere. Ty had places to go too, so he jumped in the truck and headed to Hudson. He stopped at the vet clinic to pick up some supplies and a lab report he was waiting on.
Then he drove out to the big truck dealer at the edge of town to talk to one of the salesmen he'd spoken to early in the week. He walked into the building and asked for Dave. A few minutes later Dave walked up to Ty and introduced himself and shook his hand. "Glad you could make it out today, Ty. I think you're going to like what I have to show you."
Ty said "Okay, let's take a look." They walked out the back door and there sat a nice shiny black truck. It was used but only two years old with a club cab and loaded with all the toys. Ty smiled as he walked over and opened the door. He'd contacted Dave a few weeks ago and told him what he was looking for since he knew the old GMC was not going to be big enough for his soon-to-be expanding family. Ty sat behind the wheel and started checking out all the features and talking to Dave. He got so preoccupied that he forgot the time. Next thing he knew, it was time for the shower to be over and to pick up Amy.
Dave handed him the keys and told him to go pick up his wife and take her for a ride; he would see him back in a few hours.
Ty started it up and headed back to Heartland. It rode so smoothly compared to the old GMC and was much quieter. It was a nice truck and would really work well for the family and his vet calls. He was excited to show Amy and see what she thought.
Back at the ranch, Amy was growing anxious for Ty to come rescue her. The shower had been okay, and they had received many nice presents for the baby. All the clothes were in generic colors because they had chosen not to know if it would be a boy or a girl. The stroller that Lou, Lisa and the girls had given her was beautiful and had all kinds of features. It was like having to learn how to drive a car again.
But she was tired and her back was aching from sitting in one position for too long. She wanted to go home, get out of the dress, and put her feet up and enjoy some quiet time with Ty. Only a couple more weeks and life would change forever for her and Ty.
Her thoughts wandered to how much her mom would have enjoyed the shower and the arrival of their baby. She was missing her mom a lot these days. It made her sad to think her baby would not know its grandmother.
She was brought back to reality when she felt a pain in her abdomen. Must be from sitting so long, she thought and got up to move. As soon as she got up, she had to pee so she headed to the bathroom. The pain was gone after walking so she didn't think any more about it.
A while later she was standing in the kitchen saying goodbye to some of the guests when she felt it again. She didn't say anything but took note of what time it was on the clock. Just as the last of the guests were leaving, she noticed Ty pull up in front of the house. She walked out on to the porch and was happy to see her husband but was surprised by the truck he was driving.
He had a big smile on his face as he walked up on the porch. He came over to Amy, leaning in to kiss her when she sucked in a deep breath and placed her hand on her stomach. Then she quickly smiled up at him. "Hey, what's up? I've been waiting for you."
Ty had noticed the look on Amy's face and the placement of her hand, but he didn't say anything to her. He wrapped his arms around her and said, "I have a little surprise for you." He bent down to whisper in her ear. "You okay?"
She looked at him as much to say "What?" but shook her head and asked, "So what's the surprise?"
Ty took her hand and helped her down the steps. They walked over to the truck. "So, Amy, what do you think? I was thinking we're going to need a little more room for our new addition."
Amy froze and stared at the truck. "You're kidding, right?" Then her face twisted in pain.
Ty very clearly saw his wife's reaction. He knew something was definitely up, so he reached up and opened the door and said, "How about we take this truck out for a ride, okay?"
Amy nodded, and he helped her into the truck. Both Georgie and Katie were asking if they could go to. Ty smiled and said, "Not this time. I think Aunt Amy and I need some time to test the new truck out first."
Amy sat quietly on her side of the truck, looking out at the passing landscape. Ty was watching her out of the corner of his eye and noticed a tear roll down her cheek. He reached for her hand and asked, "Amy what's wrong?"
She turned to look at him and said, "I'm missing my mom, Ty. She would be so happy for us."
Ty squeezed his wife's hand and turned the truck onto the road that led up to the ridge and the cemetery where Marion was buried. He parked the truck and went around to help Amy out. They walked over to the grave and stood there for a while, both quiet. Ty was observant of his wife's behavior and could see she was struggling to keep her composure. He took her in his arms and said, "it's okay, Amy; just let it go."
He knew even though it had been years since Marion's death, it was times like this that were the hardest on Amy. It reminded her that her mom wasn't there to share these special moments.
She smiled up at him with tears threating to fall and was about to say something when he heard her gasp for air, her hand going to her stomach. She quickly dropped her head so he couldn't see her face. Ty reached down and brought her eyes back up to his and asked,
"Amy, are you all right? What's going on?"